UPR Cycle 2 - Addendum to the Report of the Working Group

At Ireland's interactive dialogue in May 2016, 97 of the 262 recommendations made by other UN Member States were held for consideration. On 5 September 2016, Ireland submitted responses to these 97 recommendations to the UN in our Addendum to the Report of the Working Group.

24 recommendations were accepted, 45 were partially accepted and 28 were not accepted. The Report of the Working Group will be adopted on 23 September at the 33rd session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Overall, of the 262 recommendations made to Ireland, 176 have been accepted, 45 have been partially accepted and 41 have not been accepted.

Ireland will publish a voluntary interim report in 2018 on progress made in implementing the accepted and partially accepted recommendations.

Consultation event - CEDAW

We have gathered information across Government Departments in response to the questions raised in the CEDAW List of Issues and will discuss the draft text in a working consultation meeting with civil society from 10am on July 19 2016 in the Atrium, Department of Justice and Equality, 51 St. Stephen's Green.

If you would like to attend, please email Layla de Cogan Chin at LRdeCoganChin@justice.ie to register. We are accepting registrations on a first-come, first-served basis. Please note that for safety reasons, we are subject to constraints as to the number of people accommodated at the venue. Therefore, only registered participants will be admitted.

Ireland's UPR, Cycle 2

Ireland's review took place in Geneva on 11 May 2016. 93 Member States intervened in our review and of the 262 recommendations made, we were able to confirm immediately that 152 have been accepted, 13 have not been accepted, and that we will constructively examine the remaining 97 recommendations and provide our responses for the 33rd Human Rights Council session in September 2016.

UPR National Report, Cycle 2

Ireland's National Report under Cycle 2 of the UPR was submitted to the UN on 3 February 2016 and has been published on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Ireland's Cycle 2 interactive dialogue will take place in Geneva on 11 May 2016.

Call for Submissions

Consultation on human rights in Ireland

The Department of Justice and Equality is seeking submissions from civil society and interested stakeholders to help shape Ireland’s National Report under Cycle 2 of the UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process.

In March 2014, Ireland published a National Interim Report outlining the status of issues raised in the 108 recommendations made in 2011 that we accepted or partially accepted. In Ireland’s second National Report, we intend to set out progress made in addressing these issues.

The human rights and equality landscape is constantly evolving, and there may be other human rights issues that have come to the forefront since our first National Report in 2011.

We are therefore keen to hear your views on priority issues that you believe should have a place in Ireland’s second National UPR Report. Submissions should consider:

where we are and where we should be;

what we have achieved since 2011; and

priority issues that have emerged in the meantime.

Submissions should not exceed 2000 words and should be emailed to info@upr.ie before 5pm on Friday 23 October 2015.

We will hold a civil society consultation event on 11 November 2015 to discuss issues raised in the submissions.

Please check our Reports page for the report of issues raised.

7 October 2015

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UN Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Cycle 2

The second cycle of the UPR process began in March 2012 and will run until November 2016. As one of the last member states to be examined, Ireland is scheduled to appear before the Human Rights Council in Session 25, April-May 2016. The date is yet to be confirmed. The full calendar of reviews is available on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Preparations for Ireland's engagement with Cycle 2 are underway and the Interdepartmental Committee on the UPR was reconvened in June 2015. Cycle 2 focuses largely on the implementation of the recommendations made by peer member states in the first cycle, and we will be examining the progress made on recommendations accepted by Ireland across all relevant Government Departments since the publication of our voluntary National Interim Report, which was submitted to the UN in March 2014. We will also consider any new developments, achievements and issues that have arisen since Cycle 1.

Consultation was a key and valuable element of our preparations for the Cycle 1 National Report and we will be embarking shortly on various consultation projects to inform the drafting of Ireland's next National Report, which must be submitted to the UN by 25 January 2016. We are also pleased to be participating in civil society consultation events hosted by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).

For background information on Cycle 1, or to download the first National Report (2011) and the National Interim Report (2014), please visit the Reports page of this website.

Updates on Cycle 2 of the UPR will be posted here.

July 2015.

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Expressions of Interest sought for consideration for appointment to the Disability Stakeholders Group

The Minister of State at the Department of Justice and Equality, Mr Aodhán Ó Ríordáin T.D., invites expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced persons who wish to be considered for appointment to the Disability Stakeholders Group (DSG).

The DSG will run for a period of three years.

The purpose of the group is to provide a forum within which disability stakeholders can work together to present one voice to Government through the National Disability Strategy Implementation Group (NDSIG) on strategic issues in relation to the National Disability Strategy.

The group meets approximately 6/8 times a year or as required and comprises both disability service providers and disability service users, who will bring their lived experience to bear on the work of the group

The terms of reference of the group are to:

Work in partnership with Government Departments both at sectoral and cross- sectoral level to guide the development of a National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan;Focus on strategic and cross-sectoral issues in relation to the National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan;

Bring solutions to the NDSIG including actions which disability organisations could undertake to support the effective implementation of the plan;

Assist in developing a co-ordinated input, drawing on the lived experience of people with disabilities;

Assist in identifying actions and targets that can be realistically achieved as a three year programme of work within available resources;

Assist in monitoring delivery against agreed targets and to bring constructive suggestions for improving implementation;

Work together to provide advice by way of co-ordinated written and oral input; and

Respect the independence of the Chairperson of the DSG as facilitating the input of the group to the wider NDSIG.

The Disability Stakeholders Group call for expressions of interest is available here.

Please click here for background information on the National Disability Strategy.

The National Disability Strategy Implementation Plan 2013-2015 is available here.

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Statement by Ireland on the presentation of its

UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW NATIONAL INTERIM REPORT

(Item 6 of the 25th session of the UN Human Rights Council)

21 March 2014

Thank you Mr. President.

I am pleased to update the Council on the progress on human rights which Ireland has made since its UPR in 2011. We have prepared a voluntary interim report, copies of which have been distributed in the room, and which is also available online.

A number of recommendations made to Ireland concerned prison conditions. The Irish Prison Service Three Year Strategic Plan 2012 – 2015 includes a 40-month capital expenditure plan which contains a major programme of works to improve prison conditions. This plan provides for the completion of the installation of in-cell sanitation in all remaining prison cells. Ireland is also taking a number of strategic actions to reduce overcrowding and end the detention of children.

We are making progress in relation to the rights of persons with disabilities. The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013 was published in July 2013 and is currently under consideration by the Oireachtas (Parliament). The Bill provides a series of options to support people who have difficulties in terms of decision-making capacity to exercise autonomy in decision-making to the greatest extent possible. Its enactment will be a key step toward our ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

With regard to the rights of the child, a referendum to amend the Constitution to acknowledge and affirm the rights of children was passed on 10 November 2012. While a challenge to the Provisional Referendum Certificate is currently pending before the Supreme Court, we hope that this change can soon be effected, thereby providing an additional layer of protection to children’s rights in the State’s basic law. In addition, child and family services will now be the sole focus of a single dedicated State agency, the Child and Family Agency, overseen by a single dedicated Government Department. This represents an essential response to recent reports on child protection failings, including inconsistency and fragmentation in service provision.

This is a sample of the work undertaken to better protect human rights in Ireland, and the report details further efforts. Many initiatives are ongoing, including in such areas as gender recognition and the ratification of key international human rights instruments. Ireland looks forward to again demonstrating its commitment to the protection of human rights and to the UPR system at its next review in 2016.

The Working Group on the establishment of the new, enhanced Human Rights and Equality Commission is seeking input and ideas from civil society, members of the public and those interested in the future of human rights and equality in Ireland, on key questions arising from their Terms of Reference (below). This consultation process will help to inform the Working Group’s consideration of the functions, features and priorities of the new Human Rights and Equality Commission.

The key questions we want to hear from you on are:

What do you want the new body to do?

What features and functions does it need to do these things?

How should it be structured and what working methods should it use to achieve the above?

It is intended that the new Commission will be in place by the end of February 2012. As the Working Group has such a short timeframe for their work, the closing date for submissions is Wednesday, 23 November 2011 at 5.30pm.

Contributions should not exceed 1,500 words and may be emailed to info@upr.ie.

Further information can be obtained from the Working Group’s Secretariat, Department of Justice and Equality, Floor 2, Bishop’s Square, Redmond’s Hill, Dublin 2. Tel. 01 4790225.

Further information:

Details of the membership of the Working Group and its Terms of Reference are as follows:

Michael Whelan

(Chair)

Michael Farrell

Irish Human Rights Commission

Tom O'Higgins

Irish Human Rights Commission

Helen O'Neill

Irish Human Rights Commission

Lia O Hegarty

Irish Human Rights Commission

Peter White

Equality Authority

Kieran Rose

Equality Authority

Ellen Mongan

Equality Authority

Betty O Leary

Equality Authority

Diarmuid Cole

Department of Justice & Equality

Tom Cooney

Special Adviser to Minister Shatter

Terms of Reference for the Working Group on the new Human Rights and Equality Commission (HREC)

The Government has decided that setting up a new, integrated and independent Human Rights and Equality Commission (HREC) is the most effective way of achieving the shared aim of bringing about a culture of respect for human rights and equality. The HREC will retain the statutory powers and duties of the existing bodies, for example, the power to examine legislative proposals.

The purpose of this group is:

1. To identify best practice in each organisation and the structure and process through which the HREC can ensure respect for human rights, equality, diversity and the freedom and dignity of the individual and the practices in each organisation, if any, that require change and the recommended changes.

2. To identify the functions and areas of work of the existing bodies to be merged; what new functions should be added and the functions, if any, that should cease.

3. To outline how the existing bodies consult with service users; the actions, if any, to be taken to broaden the base of service users; how such processes have fed into the work planning of each organisation and to recommend how these arrangements can be improved for the purposes of the HREC.

4. To advise on what new methods the HREC might employ in carrying out its functions of providing information, education and so forth in the light of the experience gained by both organisations, bearing in mind the overall economic position and the costs of campaigns run to date.

5. To examine the existing internal structures of both bodies and identify what changes are necessary in the HREC.

6. To recommend the best location for the HREC.

7. To advise on the best staffing arrangements bearing in mind:

· the Paris Principles;· the need to ensure continuity of staff service;· the need to ensure that the skills available to the Commission are appropriate and sufficiently flexible for the Commission to respond to new challenges while at the same time providing career development opportunities for staff.· the overall current economic position and the limited resources of Government.

8. To advise on what would be the best practice for the HREC in devising specific objectives and what performance indicators should be used to measure the attainment of the objectives.

9. To advise on the best approaches or means to achieving change - for example making greater use of codes of practice or of strategic cases to achieve changes. Is there a view on which might achieve the greater outcome. Court cases tend to involve the State in one way or another. Would greater use of codes of practice be effective in wider society?

10. To advise on the best form of enquiry powers, and, in particular, to consider whether adopting the model used for Cloyne might be more effective than the current enquiry power.

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Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council

Information for Ireland’s Review on 6 October 2011

What is the Universal Periodic Review mechanism?

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is one of the major innovations of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (established in 2006 to replace the UN Commission on Human Rights), whereby the domestic human rights records of all 192 UN Member States are reviewed every four years. 48 countries are reviewed each year, starting in 2008, with 16 reviews taking place in each of the thrice yearly UPR Working Group sessions. Ireland will be one of the last 16 States to be reviewed. Ireland’s first review under UPR will take place on 6 October 2011.

This will be the first time that Ireland’s human rights record is reviewed by other UN Member States, rather than expert groups such as the UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies, for example, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The Review will take place in a political/diplomatic context rather than on the basis of an expert examination based on international legal obligations, as in CERD for example. The reviews are conducted by the UPR Working Group, which consists of the 47 members of the Human Rights Council. However, any UN Member State, whether elected to the Council or not, can take part in the interactive dialogue (i.e. the actual examination of the State under review – in Ireland’s case 6 October 2011) and submit written questions in advance of the interactive dialogue. Each State’s review is facilitated by groups of three States from the UPR Working Group, known as the “troika”, who serve as rapporteurs. The selection of the troikas for each State review is done through a drawing of lots prior to each Working Group session. It is expected that Ireland will be represented at ministerial level at the Review, which will be held in the UN Office in Geneva, at the Palais des Nations.

The ultimate aim of the UPR mechanism is to improve the human rights situation on the ground in all countries and address human rights violations wherever they occur.

What is the Government of Ireland required to do?

The Government will need to submit a National Report on its domestic human rights situation, to be used as a basis for the Review (max 20 pages) by 4 July 2011. The Human Rights Council has agreed general guidelines for States in the preparation of material for UPR, which suggest a broad outline and structure for the elaboration of national reports (these guidelines are annexed to this note). The National Report should recognise challenges and constraints and should outline commitments to overcome such challenges and constraints. As well as outlining existing legislation and international obligations, the report should also include voluntary commitments and pledges relating to the promotion and protection of human rights in Ireland.

The Government is required to hold a broad consultation process at the national level with all relevant stakeholders in preparation of the National Report. NGO consultation will play an important role in the preparation of our National Report. Our national consultation process will provide a formal opportunity for civil society to input to Ireland’s preparations and follow-up to UPR. As a first step in the public consultation process, the annual Department of Foreign Affairs NGO Forum on Human Rights, which took place on Friday 10th December 2010, had as its theme: “Ireland’s examination under the UPR mechanism on 6 October 2011”. For further information, please see www.dfa.ie/index.aspx/id=317.

What is the Review based on?

The Review is based on Ireland’s human rights obligations under UN human rights and other instruments (including the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, relevant UN human rights instruments to which Ireland is a party, applicable international humanitarian law, the Constitution, domestic laws, and any voluntary pledges and commitments made by Ireland).

The Review will be on the basis of three documents:

(i) a National Report (as mentioned above);

(ii) a compilation report prepared by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) of information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups (known as the Special Procedures), human rights Treaty Monitoring Bodies and other UN entities; and

(iii) a report compiled by the OHCHR based on additional information provided by other stakeholders - NGOs, civil society and the Irish Human Rights Commission. This information is due by 21 March 2011.

What is the role of civil society? Can non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participate in the UPR process?

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights prepares a summary of information provided by relevant stakeholders (max 10 pages), one of the three documents on which the Review is based. NGOs can make submissions which can influence the stakeholders report. In the case of Ireland’s Review, this information is due on 21 March 2011, more than three months before the deadline for the submission of Ireland’s National Report. Any of the States taking part in the interactive dialogue during the review at the Working Group meeting can refer to information provided by NGOs. NGOs can also attend, but not speak at, the interactive dialogues, and make statements at the regular session of the Human Rights Council when the outcome of the State reviews are considered. A set of "technical guidelines for the submission of stakeholders” has been published by OHCHR.

The UPR process requires Ireland to consult with relevant stakeholders in the compilation of our National Report.

What is the role of the Irish Human Rights Commission?

The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) is what is known as a “national human rights institution (NHRI)” and it has a role in the preparations for Ireland’s Review, envisaged under the agreed modalities of the UPR process. The IHRC’s role as a NHRI is distinct to that of NGOs. The IHRC will submit its own report in March 2011 for inclusion in the compilation of stakeholder information.

How will Ireland’s Review be conducted?

A three-hour interactive dialogue with Ireland will take place in Geneva on 6 October 2011 during the 12th UPR Working Group session. States are usually represented during this interactive dialogue by a Government Minister, supported by officials from a variety of Departments. As part of the review process, other UN Member States are given an opportunity to put written questions (to be submitted at least ten days in advance of the interactive dialogue) and oral questions and recommendations (during the interactive dialogue) to Ireland.

Although there are guidelines for the compilation of national reports (see para 3 above), these guidelines do not include a list of headings or themes for national reports. However the following list may be of help:

A. Cooperation with human rights mechanisms

B. Implementation of international human rights obligations

1. Equality and non-discrimination

2. Right to life liberty and security of the person

3. Administration of justice and the rule of law

4. Right to freedom of religion and belief

5. Right to practice in public and political life

6. Right to privacy, marriage and family life

7. Freedomof expression and peaceful assembly

8. Right to work and to just and favourable conditions of work

9. Right to social security and to an adequate standard of living

10. Right to health

11. Right to housing

12. Rights of the Child

13. Women’s Rights

14. Trafficking

15. Sexual rights

16. Human rights and counter-terrorism

17. Right to education

18. Minorities

19. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers

20. International cooperation

21. Situations particular to Ireland

Experience of other States to date suggests that 50-55 UN Member States will ask questions and will make more than 100 recommendations. The result of the Review will be reflected in an “Outcome Report”, prepared by the OHCHR, which will provide a summary of the discussion, including the questions, comments and recommendations made to Ireland, along with indications of those recommendations that Ireland has accepted at the interactive dialogue. Two days after the interactive dialogue, the HRC meets for half an hour to adopt the Outcome Report. The State under review has the opportunity to make preliminary comments on the recommendations, choosing to either accept or reject them. Both accepted and refused recommendations are included in the Report. After the Report has been adopted, editorial modifications can be made to the report by States on their own statements within two weeks.

The Report is finally and formally adopted at a plenary session of the Human Rights Council (in Ireland’s case, this is likely to take place at the 19th session of the Council in March 2012). During the plenary session, the State under review can reply to questions and issues that were not sufficiently addressed during the UPR Working Group and respond to recommendations that were raised by other States during the Review. Time is also allotted to member and observer States who may wish to express their opinion on the outcome of the Review and for NGOs and other stakeholders to make general comments. Only those NGOs recognised by the UN will be able to intervene in the final plenary session on Ireland’s performance at the UPR.

What steps are taken during the four years between reviews?

Primary responsibility for implementing the recommendations contained in the final outcome rests with the State. When a State’s second review takes place it must provide information on how it has been attempting to implement the recommendations made during its first review four years earlier.

Ireland is a State Party to the following human rights instruments:

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm)

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cescr.htm)

International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/cerd.htm)

International Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm)

International Convention on the Rights of the Child (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm)

International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment(http://www.hrweb.org/legal/cat.html)

UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/genocide.htm)

Optional Protocol to International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/pdf/ccpr-one.pdf)

Optional Protocol 2 to International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr-death.htm)

Optional Protocol to International Convention on the Rights of the Child (Armed Conflict) (http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc-conflict.htm)

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/protocol/text.htm)

ANNEX

At its 20th meeting, on 27 September 2007, the Human Rights Council decided to adopt, without a vote:

“I. GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR THE PREPARATION OF INFORMATION UNDER THE UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW

“Reaffirming the relevant provisions, related to the universal periodic review, of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 and of Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007 containing the institution-building package, the Council adopts the following General Guidelines:

Description of the methodology and the broad consultation process followed for the preparation of information provided under the universal periodic review;

Background of the country under review and framework, particularly normative and institutional framework, for the promotion and protection of human rights: constitution, legislation, policy measures, national jurisprudence, human rights infrastructure including national human rights institutions and scope of international obligations identified in the “basis of review” in resolution 5/1, annex, section IA;

Promotion and protection of human rights on the ground: implementation of international human rights obligations identified in the “basis of review” in resolution 5/1, annex, section IA, national legislation and voluntary commitments, national human rights institutions activities, public awareness of human rights, cooperation with human rights mechanisms …;

Identification of achievements, best practices, challenges and constraints;

Key national priorities, initiatives and commitments that the State concerned intends to undertake to overcome those challenges and constraints and improve human rights situations on the ground;

Expectations of the State concerned in terms of capacity-building and requests, if any, for technical assistance;

Presentation by the State concerned of the follow-up to the previous review.

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The 2010 DFA NGO Forum on Human Rights took place in The Convention Centre Dublin on Friday, 10 December 2010. This year’s theme was:‘Ireland’s examination under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council on 6 October 2011’.